Greek Style Lamb And Macaroni Casserole Food

GREEK PASTITSIO RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook the pasta to al dante according to package instructions. Be sure to add salt and olive oil to the boiling water. Drain and transfer pasta to 9 1/2" x 13" baking pan like this one. While still hot, drizzle pasta with a little more extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle grated Parmesan. Toss to combine. Set aside for now.
• Make the meat sauce. In a large pan or skillet like this one, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Saute onions until just golden, then add lean beef and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until meat is fully browned, tossing regularly and breaking up the meat with your wooden spoon (about 8 to 10 minutes). Carefully drain any excess liquid and return pan to heat. Add wine, crushed tomato, bay leaves, spices and pinch of sugar. Mix to combine. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then lower heat and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or so. Taste and adjust salt to your liking.
• While the meat sauce is cooking, prepare the bechamel. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook until golden (if needed, added a little more olive oil). Gradually add the warmed milk, whisking continuously. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and thick. Add nutmeg.
• In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot bechamel mixture with the 2 eggs in a small bowl. Then return all to the pan with the remaining bechamel mixture. Continue to stir or whisk the mixture bringing to a gentle boil for just 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool and thicken a little more (you should have a creamy, thick and smooth bechamel sauce).
• Assemble the pastitsio. Top the cooked pasta with the meat sauce; smooth with a wooden spoon to fully cover the pasta. Now top the meat sauce with the bechamel topping. Again, smooth with your wooden spoon to cover the meat sauce evenly.
• Bake the pastitsio in 350 degrees F heated-oven for 1 hour until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into square pieces and serve.

PASTITSIO

Steps:

• Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef, and cook until crumbly and no longer pink. Pour in the water and tomato paste. Season with salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon; cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, adjust salt to taste, then refrigerate until cold. Once cold, remove any congealed fat, and thoroughly mix with 2 beaten eggs, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, and rinse under cold water to cool. Mix the macaroni in 2 beaten eggs until well coated.
• Evenly spread half of the macaroni mixture into a 11x14x2 inch baking pan, sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan cheese, and drizzle with 1/2 cup of melted butter. Spread the meat mixture overtop, then finish with the remaining macaroni. Sprinkle the macaroni with another 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and drizzle with 1/2 cup of melted butter.
• Whisk together 4 beaten eggs with the half-and-half, 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, flour, and salt; whisk until well blended. Pour the cream mixture evenly over top of the pastitsio, and sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Cover the pan with foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake until the top has turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

GREEK PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and lamb over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the onion, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and thyme. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes longer., Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Stir into meat mixture. , Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 325° for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Freeze option: Cool unbaked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 325°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.,

GREEK LAMB & MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 10 mins until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more, then tip in the lamb mince, turn up the heat and brown, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon.
• Once the lamb is browned, add the cinnamon, crumbled stock cube, tomatoes and oregano. Stir well and simmer for 15 mins, covered, then for 15 mins, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened and the tomatoes have cooked down.
• Meanwhile, cook the macaroni following pack instructions. Drain well. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Mix together the ricotta, most of the parmesan and the milk with plenty of seasoning, and stir into the macaroni. Tip the mince into a large baking dish, top with the macaroni mixture, and scatter over the remaining parmesan. Bake for 30 mins until golden and bubbling. Serve hot with garlic bread, if you like.

GREEK LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Into the largest saucepan or casserole you have that will go into the oven, pour 3 tablespoons of the oil. Brown the meat in batches over high heat and remove with a slotted spoon to a plate nearby. You may need more oil as you do this. The onions will certainly need it, so pour the remaining oil or add more, add the onions, sprinkling a little salt over them and cook then until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, celery, thyme, and oregano. After a couple of minutes or so, when the smell of garlic wafts up, remove half the mixture. Add the meat to the mixture in the pan, cover with the remaining half, add the bay leaves, carrots, tomatoes, stock and wine. I use a big but flattish casserole and this amount of liquid covers the meat, but if you find you need more liquid, add water- you want a lot of liquid, because you will, eventually, be cooking some pasta in it. Bring to a boil, remove scum, and let bubble for about 3 minutes. Then cover, transfer to the oven, and bake for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or cook on a very low heat. The meat should be tender and yielding. Remove the carrots (and eat, cook's treat) and bay leaves, too, if you want, and season, to taste, with the salt and pepper.
• Of course you can proceed to the final stage now, but I am presuming you're not going to. In which case, let the stew cool and keep it in the refrigerator until you want it. Skim the fat off the top, and do remember to take it out of the refrigerator a good 1 to 2 hours before you cook it again. You can reheat this in the oven, but because the pasta will be put in on the stove, I tend to heat it there. Make sure the stew is piping hot. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it boils, add the salt and then pasta. Cook this until it's nearly but not quite cooked; it should have a couple of minutes still to go.
• Then drain the pasta and add it quickly to the bubbling juices in the casserole, making sure first that there are enough bubbling juices. You don't want the meat to be drowned, but you want enough for the pasta to be covered. The pasta will absorb some of the liquid as it finishes cooking, of course.
• In a couple of minutes, the pasta should be cooked. Crumble some feta and put in a bowl with the chopped parsley, oregano, or basil. Stir to combine and then leave the spoon with it, so that people can sprinkle the herb-spiked cheese over the stew as they wish. Ladle the stew into shallow soup bowls.

GREEK LAMB WITH NOODLES

Steps:

• 1. Put lamb in a casserole and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, and dot with butter. Roast at 350F turning occasionally until browned, about 40 minutes.
• 2. Add tomato sauce and meat broth, continue baking uncovered another 40 minutes till meat is very tender.
• 3. On the stove top cook pasta till aldente, drain. Mix the cooked pasta with the meat in the casserole dish gently. Sprinkle with cheese squares, return to the till cheese melts. Serve while hot.

GREEK NOODLE CASSEROLE (PASTITSIO)

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onion, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the lamb, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and mint. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• For the sauce: Simmer the milk and cream over medium heat in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the yogurt.
• Add the meat sauce to the pasta and toss well until the noodles are coated. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. Spoon the cheese sauce evenly on top and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped mint if using, and serve.

GREEK PASTA AND BEEF

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Drain macaroni and place in a large bowl. Stir in egg and cheese; set aside. , For sauce, in a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into eggs; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Stir in cheese. , In a greased 3-qt. baking dish, spread half of the macaroni mixture. Top with beef mixture and remaining macaroni mixture. Pour sauce over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

GREEK-INSPIRED LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan or casserole (that has a lid) over medium-high heat and brown the lamb pieces all over. Transfer to a bowl. Add onion to pan/casserole, lower heat and cook gently for 5-10min until softened. Add the aubergine and peppers and cook for a further 5min until starting to brown.
• Stir in the garlic, fry for 1min, then return lamb to the pan with the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, stock, olives, oregano, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and some seasoning. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 45min.
• Uncover, stir in courgettes, then re-cover and simmer for a further 30min. Remove the lid and simmer for 15min more, until lamb is tender and sauce has thickened.
• During the final 15min of cooking, bring the bulgur wheat and 400ml (14fl oz) water to the boil in a medium pan and cook over low heat for 10-12min, until water has been absorbed and the bulgur wheat is tender.
• Check seasoning of stew, scatter over feta and dill and serve with bulgur wheat.

GREEK STYLE LAMB AND MACARONI CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook Macaroni in the usual way until not quite tender.
• Drain and toss in a dash of olive oil.
• Leave aside.
• Saute the vegetables and garlic for three minutes.
• Add mince and brown.
• Add tomatoes and tomato sauce along with the water and crumbled stock cube and dried herbs.
• Simmer for 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced.
• Place half of the macaroni into the bottom of a deep casserole dish.
• Sprinkle over some grated cheese.
• Now layer half the meat/veg mix over macaroni, followed by remaining noodles, more cheese, then remaining meat/veg mix.
• Spoon the cheese sauce over the top and sprinkle with more cheese.
• Bake 220 deg celsius 20- 25 minutes.
• To make cheese sauce: Melt the margarine.
• Stir in flour.
• Blend in milk.
• Cook for three minutes stirring often.
• Stir in grated cheese til melted.

GREEK MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Brown beef and onions. Drain fat. Stir in next 3 ingredients. Set aside.
• In med. saucepan, combine next 2 ingredients. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over med. heat until mixture thickens (DO NOT BOIL).
• Beat next 3 ingredients. Gradually stir in sauce. Add macaroni. Spoon 1/2 macaroni mixture into 2-quart casserole dish. Cover with meat mixture and top with remaining macaroni.
• Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

GREEK LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150°C, gas mark 2. Cut the meat into 6cm pieces.
• Heat a large lidded flameproof casserole dish and add a tablespoon of oil. Brown the meat all over in batches, then remove and set aside.
• Add the remaining oil to the dish, stir in the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften. Leaving the top intact, split the chilli along its length, this adds flavour to the stew without too much heat. Stir in the chilli, sliced garlic and rosemary, and increase the heat. Pour in the wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and reduce the heat.
• Return the lamb and juices to the dish, stir through the black olives and bring to a simmer. Season, then cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the lamb is really tender.
• Remove the chilli and rosemary, and discard. Set the stew aside to cool.
• To Serve, bring the stew to a simmer on the hob. Add the pasta (make sure its broken into small pieces otherwise it will stick together in lumps) and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender, and the lamb is thoroughly heated. Ladle the stew onto plates and serve scattered with the feta and mint sprigs.
• Delicious with a fennel and orange salad

GREEK LAMB CASSEROLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a casserole dish and fry the lamb until browned all over. Browning the meat first will really seal its flavour and prevent it from drying out. Cook on a high heat in small batches for just a few minutes, until browned. Set to one side.
• Add the onions and peppers and cook for 5 mins. Stir in the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins. Pour in the red wine, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 mins.
• Add the tomatoes, stock, tomato paste and oregano. Return the lamb to the pan. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for at least 20 mins.
• About 5 mins before the end of the cooking time, stir in the olives. Serve with garlic bread.